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Tuesday 31 December 2013

G o o d b y e . 2 0 1 3 .

Let's just take ourselves back to the end of last year. I was happy, and bumbling along through life. 

- I'd only been doing my AS levels for a couple of months.
- I had a great group of friends.
- I didn't know how to dress myself.
- I played football every week.
- I had good skin.
- I fancied my best guy friend.
- I lived off my parents.
- Uni seemed a long way off (what even was a personal statement?!)


Now we're a year on, but I'm still me, I'm still happy, and still bumbling along through life.

- I'm happy with my AS grades from the summer and am working on A levels (God help me please).
- I still have a great group of friends which is ever-growing, and always for the better.
- I like to think I've found more of a personal style now, one which I'm happy with.
- I no longer play football but I run three times a week and did my first 10k race last Friday.
- My skin has deteriorated but I don't think I mind much.
- I don't fancy my friend anymore but we're still close; he's in a very happy long term relationship and I'm venturing into the world of dating (how alien).
- I'm earning my own money working at McDonald's which makes me feel so great.
- I actually wrote a personal statement and got accepted at all five of my universities! Considering that one year ago, I didn't even have a long-list of unis, that's pretty cool.


I wasn't exactly sure how to structure this post but I feel like a want to do a monthly highlights thing, so let's get started on that.

January: I bought a beautiful dress and wore it to a party where I met a really cute guy who I kissed and haven't seen or spoken to since. Living it up, huh? I made the decision to donate blood (the act of which occurred at a later date). I discovered Dodie Smith and incense in Camden, and also wrote a particularly scathing review of The Fault In Our Stars.

February: I tried my first TGI Fridays meal and was so bloody impressed. I cried at Les Mis. I went to Amsterdam, now my favourite city, and I'm desperate to go back. I also met up with my first internet person, Jess, and we had a fab shopping trip together. I drowned in school work and I'm still not out of that deep sea of endless essays.

March: I went to the most bloody boring lecture on the Russian Revolution and fell asleep there. After nine years of playing football, I got my first proper injury from it. I dressed up as my favourite book character, Jeane Smith, for World Book day. To top it all off, I had my first "date" with a guy I'm not in contact with anymore, so you can see how well that went. I also narrowed down my potential unis to a list of about fourteen.

April: I met a guy (possibly my soul mate) on Omegle and then met him in Camden two and a half days later. We got on so well I considered eloping to Hawaii with him and never returning. I turned seventeen the next day. This was also the month I began revising for my exams and I hated every minute of it. I played my last ever football match and cried a lot.



May: Revision stepped up a notch. I had six AS exams within the space of ten days and felt horribly stressed for the first three weeks of May due to that. I read some more Dodie Smith and fell in love with I Capture The Castle (blog name inspiration, perhaps?). I met my pen pal, Abdullah, and we've emailed a couple of times a week ever since.

June: I went back to school after a blissful couple of weeks of freedom. I also visited three universities and took a particular liking to Chester. I donated blood for the first time and it was so great knowing that I might have made a huge different to someone's life. I got really excited about summer.

July: I went on an overnight trip to Cambridge with some of my best friends and had two of the best days of my year. I also went to one of the best parties of this year, followed by two more parties which weren't quite as good. We broke up from school and I went with my family to Cornwall for a week.



August: I was a mentor for the National Citizen Service and began "dating" a fellow mentor. We hung out a lot and went out to a lot of places. I also went to Germany with my family for a week. The biggest milestone, however, was applying for, having an interview for, and getting a job at McDonald's. August was a crazy month, but a bloody good one.

September: I started back at school and had my first shift at McDonald's, which I loved. I went on more dates with aforementioned mentoring guy, and also discovered Polyvore which is a godsend! I wrote a very long post about the internet guy and felt much better about the whole situation which had begun to make me feel a bit crappy.

October: I decided to end things with the guy I was seeing but we stayed friends. I became increasingly obsessed with Polyvore. I began to feel like life was a bit empty and I wasn't entirely happy, but I did get to read The Bone Season which is a book that's going to stay with me for a long time, and which lifted my mood considerably.



November: This month saw me send off my uni application and get accepted to all five of them, which I felt was a huge achievement. I snapped out of my sad mood from the previous weeks and decided to take part in the 2014 Blogger Challenge. I went to my best friend's party-for-the-hell-of-it too and had the best night there.

December: I drowned a bit more in schoolwork and cried over a few essays, but I also bought some new clothes and really got into the Christmas spirit. Previously mentioned mentor guy and I rekindled our burnt out flame (lol) and started hanging out again. I had one of the best Christmases of my life, spent with my family and a lot of good food.


And so this brings us up to date. I hope you've all had as good a year as I have. 2013 has been the best year of my life so far, but I've been saying this every year for the past ten years, or something stupid, so I don't know how much it counts for. Tonight, I'm going to a girl's house party. I go to school with her but have never spoken to her which makes it ten times more awkward. I'm a bit reluctant to go but it's probably a lot better than sitting at home alone to welcome 2014.


I hope you all have fantastic nights tonight, whatever you're doing and wherever you are! I'm so ready for the new year.



Monday 30 December 2013

New Years Eve OOTD

New Years Eve OOTD


H M lace top
$25 - hm.com


Faux leather jacket
$50 - newlook.com




Ileana Makri diamond jewelry
$13,210 - net-a-porter.com


Ileana Makri diamond jewelry
net-a-porter.com


Lip treatment
target.com


Monsoon Pearl Bow Party Socks
monsoon.co.uk



Out of pure laziness, I have put together a Polyvore set of clothes similar to what I'll wear tomorrow night, as opposed to actually getting up and getting dressed in the outfit, and then having to take photos of it. Lazy to the max.

Saturday 28 December 2013

Christmas 2013

This is going to be a classic what-I-got-for-Christmas post so I suppose I need to, like everybody else, clarify that by showing you what I was lucky enough to receive for Christmas this year, I am in no way bragging or boasting or trying to put myself above anyone bla bla, we all know how the disclaimer goes. If you're reading this and you've done one of these posts, please link it to me because I always love reading about everybody else's Christmas and presents and everything!


I'll start with my "main" present this year: my Doc Martens! I chose the classic 1460 boot in Navy, smooth, because I didn't want just black boots, and navy is still really cute and goes with most other colours. I do have another pair of docs, but they're more of a canvas material and so I didn't have a problem breaking them in. These though I can see are going to be a bitch to wear in and get comfortable in so I've taken to wearing them around the house. I'm in love.





I also got a new rucksack which I'm probably going to use as a school bag, because I have a ridiculous amount of textbooks and little drawstring rucksacks or canvas totes don't really make the cut. I've had the same school bag since I started high school six years ago and, while it's not broken, it's got incredibly dirty and even a spin in the washing machine can't fix that. It was an Eastpak and because I love it so much, I decided to go for another Eastpak but with a much cuter print on it. Again, I'm in love.




I've never really stopped loving CDs and, given the choice between a CD or a digital copy of an album, I'll always pick the CD. For the past seven years, my younger brother has always bought me a NOW CD at Christmas and that tradition definitely hasn't stopped this year. I also received a few other CDs from my parents, uncle and grandparents which I'm looking forward to listening to so much I know all the words and begin to hate the songs.




NOW 85, The 1975, Lorde, HAIM, Icona Pop, London Grammar


As a major bookworm, books were, of course, at the very top of my wishlist. Not even exaggerating. I use a great website called www.lovereading.com  to pick out which books I think I'm going to like because it lets you read little extracts and reviews and bits about the author. There are probably a lot of websites like this but lovereading is my personal favourite! I'm ashamed to say I've not even started reading any of these books yet because I've been absolutely absorbed in Rookie Yearbook One (I'll elaborate later) but I'm excited to do so when I can finally get round to it.




All The Summer Girls - Meg Donohue, IT - Alexa Chung, The Originals - Cat Patrick, The Bridget Jones Omnibus - Helen Fielding, The Virgin Suicides - Jeffrey Eugenides, The Rise of Nine & The Fall of Five - Pittacus Lore


Finally, I want to talk about the Rookie Yearbooks. I am obsessed. Rookie Mag is already a beautiful creation, a collection of fabulous articles and photos and life stories... but it's in virtual form. You know me, I like a physical copy of everything (refer back to CDs vs. digital music). The Rookie Yearbooks are a physical copy of everything on the website, so they're everything I want. They're not an easy read, or a quick read, though. It's taken me three days to get through 200 pages of yearbook one which is pretty slow going. A lot of the articles require concentration if you want to get the most out of them, so I don't really feel like I can skim read. 10/10 though, absolutely recommend.



And here ends my summary of my favourite presents this year. I didn't include everything because I'm not sure you want to read about the obscene amount of chocolate and socks that I received! I hope you've had a fab Christmas and please do link me to any of your "haul", so to speak, posts. xo


Song of the day:


Tuesday 24 December 2013

Christmas nails!




Please forgive me for the old-people-style wallpaper; I'm currently staying at my grandparents' place. Merry Christmas guys!

The Liebster Award

Hey guys! The fabby Jess has nominated me for the Liebster Award. I'm not sure if I've done this one before but the questions are always different and who doesn't love answering questions about themselves? Not me, that's fo sho. Let's get cracking.





The Rules:

- You need to link back to the nominator 
- State 11 Facts about yourself
- Answer the 11 questions given to you 
- Nominate 11 new bloggers with less than 200 followers
- Give those nominated 11 new questions


11 facts about me:

1) I'm incredibly fickle. One minute I want something, the next I don't. One day, I love a friend and think they're great, and the next day, every little thing they do makes me want to cry. I can't help it! I've tried to be consistent but I can't be and it's hard. The struggle is real.

2) I love doing my own piercings. It gives you such a sense of control, you know? Like, you know exactly where it's going and what it will look like, you get to choose the environment it's done in, and you're 100% confident in your sterilisation techniques because you've done it yourself. I love it. Top tip: forget the whole needle thing; get a mega sharp earring and stick it wherever you want the piercing. Honestly, is saves on having to remove the needle and then practically repierce the hole to get an earring in. Sorry, bit of digression there!

3) Pitch Perfect is an obsession. I've got their final performance song stuck in my head right now, all the little backing vocals and everything. It's probably not healthy, the amount I think about how much I want to join an a capella group, but you know, live in the now. I just wish I could sing, which brings me to -

4) - I am the worst singer ever. Honestly, you'd probably cover your ears and leg it. It's a shame because I looove singing and getting to appreciate the music and the lyrics, but this love never seems to translate into actual notes. Bummer.

5) I haven't had a haircut in two years which is disgusting and I'm ashamed.

6) Going out for meals makes me so happy. I think that must be true for everyone, because well, isn't it just the best feeling ever? Wagamama, Beefeater, TGIs, Nandos; you name it, I'm excited. I'm really craving something savory right now, like a huge hunk of meat. Uh oh, that's an innuendo minefield.

7) I worry about everything all the time, which is terrible and I need to try and stop doing it. But I read this tip somewhere for if a family member or friend is going out and you know you'll worry about them, then ask them exactly where they're going and what time they'll be back. I know it sounds really obvious but I've become a lot more relaxed since I've started doing that.

8) Harry Potter is another obsession. We had a little quiz once and one of the categories was Harry Potter knowledge. The final question was the number of the vault in which the Philosophers Stone was kept in the first book. It's 713 and I almost cried with joy when it transpired that no one else knew.

9) I've been told I hold my school's record for the fastest ever university offer - just under four hours after my application was sent off, woohoo. And my friend and I both had all of our offers within a week which is also a "school record". (I'm not sure who keeps track of these things...)

10) I think I want four kids: two boys and two girls, because I feel like every boy should have a brother, and every girl should have a sister. I also think I have names picked out for these non-existent children but they're probably subject to change.

11) Emailing my pen pal is one of the greatest things. He's my age but lives thousands of miles away in Ohio, so obviously our lives are so different. We've been brought up in such contrasting environments and it's amazing to hear about what he gets up to and get to know him.


Jess's questions for me:

Why did you start blogging?

Incidentally, Jess and I began blogging for the same reason, just three days apart, and I didn't even know her. Total coincidence. I read Adorkable by Sarra Manning which is narrated by Tavi Gevinson-esque Jeane Smith who was devoted to her blog and building an online empire. I didn't want to build an empire, as such, but the idea of having a blog and being able to write on it as and when I wished was so appealing. I still love it.

Favourite item in your bedroom?

I'll be really annoying and cliche and say my bookshelf. That is, if the books on it count with it. I think I have around 250 which means there are 250 different worlds to discover. Ooh cheesy, but still, reading is such a great form of escapism.

One thing you're addicted to?

I've definitely mentioned it before: Pepsi Max. No calories, beautiful sweetness, fabulous energy booster? Yes please.

What do you own the most of?

Books, I believe. But maybe socks. I have, like, an obscene amount and I don't know where they all come from

Do you have any pets?

I really am not a great fan of animals. Dogs, cats, hamsters, horses, fish, turtles, ferrets, whatever it is, I really don't like it. I know a lot of people think that I'm mad for saying that but honestly, the same way some people hate Marmite, I kind of feel like that about animals. So, no pets.

What is your favourite topic to write about?

I think I like to rant the most. Like, just let go and write whatever you want, no editing or going back and deleting chunks. Just put down what you feel and hit publish, and bam, a huge weight has been lifted off your shoulders. I love it.

Any idea about what you want to do when you're older?

Career-wise? Not really. The idea of working in the publishing industry has always appealed so that's kind of what I'm aiming for right now. Or maybe being a teacher, I don't really know. But you know some people want to be a doctor, or a policeman, or a vet? Like, they just know and always have? I want to be a mum. I know it's not a career and it's not a lot to aim for and perhaps it's not the sole thing I should be aspiring to be, but it's what I want.

Do you think you'll still be blogging three years from now?

I really really hope so. In three years, I'll be twenty and hopefully starting my third year of uni. Who knows. But I'll honestly try my best.

What is one thing you're really proud of?

I hope it's not big headed to say, but I'm proud of who I am, what I stand for, and how I treat people. I'm also proud of my GCSEs (cliche) which were 3 Bs, 5 As, and 3 A*s.

Describe your style in five words.

Wannabe chic, actually a mess.

What is your favourite beauty product?

I've done a whole post on my favourite beauty products (plural) here and a special post dedicated to my very favourite product ever, a Clinique foundation here. It gives such amazing coverage and doesn't make my face feel or look greasy. 10/10 (but cringing hard at that post from earlier this year)


My nominees: (definitely not 11)



My questions:

What song is stuck in your head right now?

Best day of your life?

Coloured Christmas lights, or plain ones?

Be truthful - does blogging ever feel like a chore?

Talk about your best friend.

The person you've ever felt the most butterflies for?

Do you maintain your cuticles?

Your favourite magazine to read?

Pitch an idea for a reality TV show right now.

Do you have any allergies?

Last text message you received?


So, a huge thanks to Jess for nominating me, and I hope you all enjoy reading this huge amount of writing. I'm feeling a bit lazy so I can't really be bothered to proof read - apologies for any typos!


And hey, let's not be exclusive: I nominate you all for the Liebster Award. Have fun!

Friday 20 December 2013

Secret Santa!

As today was the last day of term, I exchanged presents with my little group of friends at a movie afternoon we had at one of their houses (cue Pitch Perfect, The Grinch, and Elf!). For my role as Santa, I bought of one my friends a Lily Flame candle she wanted (ten bloody pounds!) and a Revlon polish she's been after for ages - we had a budget of around fifteen pounds. I was so happy with what I received from my "secret" Santa (I knew..!). My best friend happened to get me, so she'd been very generous, and I'm very grateful! I got a gorgeous tiny pair of silver hoops, about the size of a 5p coin, bubble bath, nail varnish, a lovely ring, and some scrunchies. Hello 90s!




The lighting in these isn't great and neither is the quality, but these three are my favourite little pressies I think. Is it bad I'm really looking forward to reliving 1999 with these scrunchies? I'm off to bed now as I've got a three mile run tomorrow morning, followed by work, followed by a party. Madness, agh!

Thursday 19 December 2013

OOTD - World's Ugliest Sweater





I wish I could tell you what shop this, um, monstrosity masterpiece is from, but I can't because it was knitted by my grandma in the 80s. Who did she knit it for, I hear you ask. For my dad. My dad, then in his twenties. It's a very colourful piece - I think we can all see that! - but the wool is also very soft and it's comfortable to wear. It fits me pretty well too, so hey, guess what I'm wearing tomorrow for the last day of school?!


I wonder what people are going to say. Maybe I'll get a few strange looks, but it's Christmaaaaas! Only six days to go and I'm practically crying with excitement.

Wednesday 18 December 2013

The Spirit Of Blogging - Vocaroo #2


Click if you want to hear my voice and some opinions on what blogging is really about.

Polka dot jeans




I used to wear jeans all the time. It was in that kind of emo stage that everyone has when they're around fourteen, and listen to little hipster rock bands from, like, Wyoming. I had about fifty six pairs of skinny jeans in a ridiculous amount of colours that I wore with baggy tshirts and checked shirts. Oh wow, hello 2010. It saddens me realising that period was less than four years ago.


Anyway, what I mean to say is after my little emo stage, I went off jeans entirely and stuck to dresses and skirts for the longest time. I did have a dark green pair of super stretchy jeans which I still wore, and still do wear, on my lazy hobo days. But recently I found myself wishing I owned some really cute little jeans just to wear with a tshirt and boots, and not have to put on tights with my skirts everyday. So I popped down to TK Maxx (where else?) and picked up these sweet polka dot jeans for something like £17.


They fit beautifully which is good because I have huuuge thighs and so usually need to get a larger size, even though my waist and hips are much smaller in proportion so the top part is normally loose, blah blah.. I'm just trying to say it's like they were made for me and I'm a huge believer in fate and that they were the last pair in the shop, so it's a SIGN (I saw the sign, and it opened up my eyes...)


I'm off to wrap some Christmas presents now, and to write out Christmas cards for my friends. I'm starting to get all excited now... only one week to go!


Song of the day: (my favourite song in my emo time!)


Tuesday 17 December 2013

Oversized Pink Coat

Oversized Pink Coat


Dorothy Perkins dress
dorothyperkins.com


Sports jacket
$115 - inlovewithfashion.com


Topshop socks
topshop.com


Office leather boots
$120 - office.co.uk


Givenchy handbag
kirnazabete.com

Winter Tag 2013

Hey everyone! I'm a bit bored right now and was having a cheeky stalk of Ellen's blog when I saw she'd done the Winter Tag. I love her blog and reading about the things she gets up to so definitely go and take a look at her. She's tagged everyone, so boredom and procrastination equals me doing this. Let's get started.


1. What are your top two winter beauty essentials?

Okay, let's be honest: I'm not really big on skincare or anything. I'm a bit too lazy to have a consistent routine. I do, however, love Neutrogena's grapefruit face moisturiser which I try to use every morning before I put on any makeup. I also love a good lipbalm, my favourite of which at the moment is Maybelline's Baby Lips in Minty Fresh. It's a clear balm but it's really moisturising and I've always liked menthol-type balms because they burn, but in a good way, you know?


2. What are your top two winter fashion essentials?

I love my Doc Martens. They're little floral ones but I like to wear them with everything, clashing or not. They're waterproof and keep my feet warm which is obviously a bonus. I also like to wear a huge coat, kind of parka-style, to wrap up nice and warmly. Plus, I think Doc Martens, a skirt, and an oversized coat is always a cute look.


3. What shoes do you tend to wear most in the winter?

Doc Martens by far. I'm also lucky enough to be getting a new pair - nice and navy - for Christmas this year, so I'll be wearing those a lot in the post-Christmas winter. God, this post is basically an exact copy of Ellen's, sorry! But Doc Martens are the ultimate winter boot. And summer boot, come to think of it.


4. What is your favourite winter accessory?

Well, this little tale is going to make me sound like an actual tramp, but here we go. I walk to and from school every day and, for three days, twice a day, I walked past a tree with a beautiful scarf hung over it. This poor little scarf had been hanging there limply in the rain for days and days so I decided it needed to be rescued. I took it home and washed it, and now I wear it with love. It's kind of colour blocked, red and orange, and feels sort of woolly but it's definitely polyester. I'll try and post a photo of it soon, but yes, that's my favourite winter accessory.


5. What is your favourite winter nail polish?

I used to paint my nails a lot but I can't anymore because my job doesn't allow it, waah! I do love a colour from Accessorize though, called Aztec in shade 38. It's black with lots of purple/green shimmer, so it looks a bit witchy sometimes but also pretty classy. I love dark nails for the colder months.


6. What is your favourite winter candle?

What is this sudden obsession with candles, yo? Why does everyone love them? I blame Zoella. I'm not really big into candles but I burn incense a lot. My favourite scent is Nag Champa, and I'm pretty sure you can buy it anywhere. I get mine from Camden market but I definitely saw it in Amsterdam too. Highly recommend!


7. Snowboarding or skiing?

I've not been snowboarding or skiing. I think I'd probably be more of a skiing person though, because it looks like (and correct me if I'm wrong) it requires less balance. I lack good balance. Snowboarding looks too much like skateboarding which I happen to be awful at so that's ruled out straightaway. I would love to go skiing though!


8. Does it snow where you live?

It does indeed! We usually get it post-Christmas though, most often in February. I live in South London and, surprisingly, we get it definitely half-way-up-shin-height, but sometimes to our knees. Enough for school to be cancelled which, really, is all we want. I love snow but the ice afterwards - oh my god, no thank you. I cannot tell you how many times I've fallen over. My poor coccyx will never recover.


And there we have this year's winter tag! I might try and get one done for every season, I think that would be pretty fun. On another note, I'm so sad about Google Friend Connect disappearing. Like, what's up with that?! All hail Bloglovin, I guess. Feel free to follow me on there and I'll do the same because I need to be kept updated with all of your lovely lives!